Review: Matt Corby Releases his Much Anticipated Debut Album

After years of anticipation, Australian singer/songwriter, Matt Corby, has released his debut album Telluric today on Elektra Records. Corby made his presence known in 2011 with his EP, Into the Flame featuring the emotional track “Brother,” which went six times platinum in Australia. Since then, Corby has continued to release music, all leading up to Telluric.

Before today, Corby had already released three of the 11 tracks, “Monday,” “Knife Edge” and “Sooth Lady Wine,” all of which speak to the varied sounds on the album, capturing his deep soulful voice and honest lyrics.

The amazing thing he is able to avoid, unlike so many artists today, is sounding redundant. No two songs are alike and each can stand on its own, telling a very different story with each listen.

Telluric opens up with the slow building track “Belly Side Up.” The instrumentals are simple, and lyrics complex, introducing listeners to what they’re to expect from the album. He continues this simplistic approach into “Monday,” an even more stripped down track with Corby’s voice on a loop in the background.

We then transition into the more upbeat “Knife Edge,” a complete turnaround from the first two tracks. Now, I can not stress this enough. Blast this song, close your eyes, and let your hips do the talking. Whether that means dancing alone in your room or adding it to your love making playlist, mental or otherwise, you will not be disappointed.

Once you’re done dancing or whatever you chose to do to “Knife Edge,” get ready to bring it back down with “Wrong Man.” Corby has the same intense emotion that he sings with on stage in this track, and you will most likely hate whoever hurt him after listening to it.

My absolute favorite off the album is track six, “Sooth Lady Wine,” a perfect halfway point for your emotions. If you’re a fan of Alabama Shakes, you will understand why I am craving a duo between Matt Corby and Brittney Howard after listening to this one. Like Alabama Shakes, “Sooth Lady Wine” reminds me of dancing in the living room to my parents vinyls as a kid.

Corby switches up the pace once again, easing the listener into the end of his album with track 10, “Good To Be Alone.” The sad optimism of the lyrics will either make you cry or smile, or some weird combination of the two before you get to the final song, “Empires Attraction,” a perfect summation to the album.

I expected nothing less from Corby, but got so much more. It is clear from every aspect of this album that Corby invested every bit of himself into the therapy of his music, and I couldn’t be happier.